


cracked spines

by ElasticElla



Category: Teen Wolf (TV), Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Crossover, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-02
Updated: 2015-03-02
Packaged: 2018-03-16 01:49:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3469937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElasticElla/pseuds/ElasticElla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marin wakes up in the middle of the night, surrounded by tight shelves and musty books. She’s not sure why the library called to her- she hasn’t been here since she was a child, though she recognizes it almost the same.</p>
            </blockquote>





	cracked spines

**Author's Note:**

> originally posted [here](http://elasticella.tumblr.com/post/111673048412/marin-wakes-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night)

Marin wakes up in the middle of the night, surrounded by tight shelves and musty books. She’s not sure why the library called to her- she hasn’t been here since she was a child, though she recognizes it almost the same. Her second home, the hidden one by the dog park is full of books- both government approved and not. She’s very careful with that house of course, and only one hooded figure who reminds her of her late brother has ever seen her.

She never wandered the library when she was younger, far too caught up in books she couldn’t quite reach. She wanders now, making sure not to trip or wake up again. Searching for something, not quite a book but she grabs some anyways.

There’s a librarian approaching, and Marin stops as she ought. She holds her books loosely, not knowing which they are. The librarian sweeps closer, and Marin tries to be taller. Marin knows she should be terrified, there’s a  _librarian_  inches from her face- but all she can consider is that the librarian is far more beautiful than the ones at last year’s poetry week, far more beautiful than anyone.

The librarian takes the books with a flash of teeth. Marin tries to wake up, but she’s already awake. The librarian doesn’t attack though, the librarian pets the books.

“You’ve already read these.”

Marin’s eyes go wide, and the next moment she’s in her bed sweat-soaked and gasping for air. She’s never heard of the librarians talking- most of their undocumented communication was in screeches. Not knowing what it could mean, and deeply troubled, Marin doesn’t sleep for another week.

When the words start to mix on the page, when she can no longer go to her other home for fear of not being stealthy enough- Marin sleeps. She doesn’t dream, and her body is tense the whole night. The sun rises and melts away her tension, and she awakes between two shelves.

Now that she’s here, she doesn’t know why she was avoiding it. The library feels like her second home- comforting and full and mist. Marin walks upstairs, more and more stairs, until she reaches the plush armchairs.

She sits and waits.

A few librarians pass and ignore her, and only when her resolve begins to crumble does her librarian show up with a plate of gingersnaps. It’s placed on a table she hadn’t noticed, and the librarian sits across.

“You must be hungry, you’ve been in here for days.”

The voice doesn’t shock her this time, only comforts like the walls coming closer. Marin grabs a cookie, saying, “Thank you.”

The librarian cocks her head at that, and does not say she’s welcome.

Marin didn’t expect her too.

“I’m Noshiko.”

Marin holds her hand out automatically, “I’m Marin.”

Noshiko smiles lightly, and grasps her hand.

Marin wakes up.

Marin sleeps for weeks trying to go back. She tries reading before bed, reading in bed, pretending to write- but nothing works. The library refuses to call out to her, and the memories grow more distant.

Months pass, and Marin’s schedule slips back to normal. She no longer naps in her free time, nor circles the library in vain wishing for a door. She even gets a new job as the Mayor’s secretary, and sees books even more rarely.

She stops going to her second house by the dog park.

The library finally gets doors- Marin pretends she wasn’t there for the annoucement.

Poetry week comes all too suddenly, and Marin  _hates_  writing poetry. She hates the nostaligia, the beauty of what could have been but wasn’t, the forced reminiscing.

She feeds her poems to a librarian that looks like the ones from her childhood- they all do. Noshiko isn’t there, and she feels more worry than gladness.

She goes to the library that night- she can’t recall if she drempt herself there, or if she walked through the door. She searches and searches for Noshiko, goes through all the stacks and floors, and repeats until she can recognize all the other librarians by sight. She runs into people for the first time, but they all freeze upon seeing her and stand up straight. She doesn’t give it much thought- none of them are Noshiko.

Marin searches until she can’t remember how to wake up, how to not frighten the children. They all seem so young now.

There’s a girl that looks like she could be Noshiko’s daughter. She flits around the library, and takes home far more books than the average child. Marin knows one day, far away, she’ll shake her hand and find out where Noshiko went.


End file.
